Third Grader Arrested After Gun Discharged In Ga. Classroom

A deputy says the child arrived late and was going through his backpack in the back of the room when the gun went off.

Author:
WMAZ , WFMY

Published:
1:30 PM EST November 10, 2017

Updated:
1:30 PM EST November 10, 2017

An 8-year-old boy was taken into custody Friday morning after a gun discharged inside a Baldwin County classroom.

It happened at Lakeview Academy, an elementary school in Milledgeville that serves grades 3 through 5.

Baldwin County Sheriff's Maj. Scott Deason said the boy was in his third grade classroom when the gun discharged.

Deason says the child had arrived late, was going through his backpack in the back of the room when the gun went off.

School personnel called the school resource officer at 8:26 a.m., Deason said.

The boy was detained in the classroom and taken to Baldwin County Sheriff's Office. The Department of Juvenile Justice ordered him to wear an ankle monitor and returned him to his parents, Deason said.He'll face four charges:1) Carrying a weapon in a school safety zone2) Reckless conduct3) Disrupting or interfering with public school4) Possession of a pistol by a person under 18

Deason says the gun - a Smith & Wesson 9-millimeter - was reported stolen in an October burglary.

Deason says luckily the boy arrived late because the other children were in the front of the classroom reading on the floor while the boy was in the back of the room.

The is the second incident involving a firearm with an elementary student in a Baldwin County school during the last few weeks.

On Oct. 26, a parent notified the principal at Midway Hills Academy to let them know that her child brought a gun to the school.

The principal removed the student and their belongings from the classroom. After searching the child's book bag, the principal found an unloaded gun.